What Dreams May Come
by Trickster Lady
Summary: After Kenshin and Kaoru have married, Megumi finds her life seeming to stand still, especially where Sano is concerned. When troubles arrive beyond the pair's imagination, will they overcome their fate and find each other?


Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own RK or anything related. I certainly don't claim to own the quote (which is from Shakespeare's Hamlet, by the way) that I am using, either. Big surprise, ne? 

Author's Notes: As if you want to read these… but if you do, then you have a sense of humor akin to mine, as I find these things incredibly entertaining, usually. Some more than others. But we've already established I'm quirky. Read the story if you haven't figured it out yet, or read some others if you still haven't realized it. Now, this story is completely Sano and Megumi in spirit, but it will take a while. The ride can't ever be that easy. There will be angst, but it will serve a purpose, other than infuriating readers. –laughs-

Prologue

————————

Sleep

_To die: to sleep;  
No more; and, by a sleep to say we end  
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks  
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation  
Devoutly to be wish'd._

It was a quiet night; or, at least that's how it seemed. There was always something more than what met the unaided eye. The moon, a glowing silvery crescent against the impossibly black backdrop that was the sky, was framed by the glittering white dots of countless stars.  A few wisps of dark gray clouds added to the ethereal appearance. Below the magnificent tapestry stretched the darkened expanse of land, dotted with hillsides and dark forests that separated homes from the main town nearby. Animals scurried back and forth as they went about their daily tasks, ranging in variety from the tiniest firefly to the most majestic deer. The air was warm and humid, filled with the moisture of the day's rain. The soft earth was damp and dark, accented with the occasional puddle. 

            Megumi sighed to herself. She hated these humid, lazy days. She didn't usually mind summer for the most part, but the heaviness of the moisture in the air and the pressing weight of the heat was uncomfortable and served to bore her. With a yawn, she leaned against the wooden post of the clinic's front porch, her legs dangling off the side. Megumi Takani had never been one to handle boredom with great success. It usually meant trouble for others once the trickster doctor found herself bored, as there was generally a teasing scheme to soon follow. A breath of air escaped her lips as she drew a knee up to her chest, linking her arms in front of her shin. 

            "Oi, Kitsune," came the all-too-familiar voice. Megumi didn't even have to look up to know who it belonged to. Her eyes were closed and she was listening to the cicadas and crickets as they moved about the grass. Eventually dark eyes opened and she turned her head to look at the lanky newcomer, who was standing beside her on the porch with his hands shoved into his white pants pockets. 

            "Yes, Sano?" she asked, much too bored and apathetic at the moment to really mount a verbal attack. Besides, she had really laid in to the guy the last time…

            "Well… Kenshin and Jou-chan are in Kyoto and my tab at the Akabeko still hasn't been paid all the way off…" he trailed, looking at her with wide, hopeful brown eyes. Megumi swore he was as bad as a child with that look sometimes. His brown eyes would shine pleadingly and his easy-going expression would turn into a charming smile. She would be lying to herself if she said she didn't think it was…attractive at times. At times, now. At others it was completely immature and not attractive at all. Right. 

            Sanosuke watched the foxish doctor as she thought it over, recalling the way he had seen her just moments before. She had been sitting lazily on the porch, her shiny black hair cascading down her back. Her eyes had been closed and almost peaceful… the darkness that lingered in them when they were open masked with a fake innocence. Despite their banter and anything he might say to the contrary, he really did enjoy the time he spent with her. But she was stubborn until the end. He was beginning to wonder if she would ever open up to him, ever trust him. 

            Megumi blew out an annoyed breath that was more for show than actual sentiment. A small smirk graced her mouth, turning one corner of her painted lips up. To be honest with herself, she knew deep down that she enjoyed these moments too. Not that she would ever tell him. Nope, they would dance and tease and flirt around the issue until they either gave in or gave up, and she didn't know which would come first. She raised a hand and waved him off idly.

            "There's food inside and tea on the table," she returned with an irritability that they both knew was feigned, but was customary. He clapped his hands together, standing up straight with an emotion akin to jubilation. He wouldn't have to endure Tae-san's disapproving looks or---heaven forbid--- his own cooking. Besides, when he could get a meal out of her, the fox cooked better than Kenshin. And she sure as hell made better company, at least in a physical sense. Sure, he cared for his friend a lot, but Kenshin wasn't a woman and Megumi certainly was. He'd caught a glimpse or two of the figure she concealed beneath her overshirt. Oh well. He was getting fed, and that was about all he cared about at the moment. He darted inside, kicking his shoes off before turning to look at her. She hadn't moved from the porch. 

            "You coming?" he asked, watching her for a few moments. She didn't turn her head, instead kept watching the glowing lights of fireflies as they danced. If he had stopped to really think about it, he might have gotten worried. But she seemed all right. At least, he didn't see any reason why she wouldn't be.

            "After while," she replied, her tone neither sharp nor gentle but rather somewhat distant, as if she was thinking deeply about something. Despite what others might have said, Sagara Sanosuke was far from stupid. He could tell that something was probably up and that she probably didn't want to talk about it. He couldn't pick up a depressed air about her, but that didn't necessarily mean anything.  As for Megumi, she was content to watch the erratic flashing patterns of the fireflies, her expression detached and thoughtful. Her life had changed a great deal after meeting Kenshin, Sano and the others… and it had changed a great deal recently. Kenshin had married Kaoru and they were expecting a baby, Genzai-sensei had made it quite clear numerous times that he was leaving the clinic to her if she chose to stay, little Ayame and Suzume were growing up… but her life really seemed to be almost stagnant. Changes were happening around her, but not really _to _her. It was as if she was but a spectator to her own life. 

            He looked at her, but didn't say anything. He figured that if she wanted to talk, then she would. She still didn't seem to trust him enough, despite everything they had been through together. Sano didn't know what else he could do. He really did feel strongly for the fox. Not for the first time, he wondered if she felt anything for him. Brown eyes narrowed thoughtfully before he turned to go to the food. He didn't know what to do around her. 

            Megumi could hear the hesitation in his footsteps, but didn't say anything. A small sigh escaped her lips before she stood, brushing her kimono back into place. She tossed her thick locks of midnight black hair over shoulder gently, before moving into the main part of the house. She came up to the table where Sano, Genzai-sensei, and the girls were already seated and eating jovially. Kneeling at her customary place, she smiled softly at them before pouring herself a cup of tea. She sipped at the steaming liquid, savoring the taste. 

            After a while of not really actively participating in the conversation, she set her cup of tea down on the low table and stood. The others looked up at her curiously, Sano's gaze containing more of a darker concern than Genzai-sensei's or the girls'. She returned it with a somewhat reassuring one of her own. 

            "I'm going to take a walk," she announced, "I'll be back later." 

            Genzai-sensei looked at her, before smiling cheerfully. 

            "All right then, Megumi-chan," he said kindly, "Have fun." She nodded in response, and turned to go before Sano's voice stopped her. 

            "I'm kind of bored, I can come along," he said, the laid-back tone of the words not quite matching the savvy look in his brown eyes. Megumi turned and looked at him over her shoulder. 

            "I'll be fine, thanks," she said, although the words were slightly clipped. If there were things the lady doctor detested, being thought less of because of her gender was one of them. Sano knew the look and the tone well, and decided not to push it.  He'd already decided she was in a mood today.  

            Megumi didn't give him a chance to reply, instead turned on her heel and disappeared through the door to the outside. She had the sudden, burning desire to be alone. The porch had served its purpose for a while, but she was finding herself restless. Something was bothering her, although she really couldn't completely define it. She paused at the porch to pick up the two books she had left there earlier, her journal and sketchbook, along with the ink. 

            As she walked the familiar path away from the clinic, she debated whether or not to go into town. That would probably just mean more people to avoid. She wasn't exactly feeling sociable as of the moment. She didn't particularly want to show up randomly at the Himuras' either. She was sure Kenshin and Kaoru had much better things to do with their time than try and entertain a bored and jaded kitsune doctor. 

            She came to a stop, then, realizing that she had been wandering around for the better part of an hour and had come to a creek. A grove of cyprus trees surrounded the water, the ground marshy and damp. With a sigh, Megumi leaned against one of the sturdy old trees and tilted her head back to look up at the stars. She had half a notion to kick the tree, but somehow it didn't seem to be particularly productive so she dismissed it. Instead she pulled out the journal she had taken with her, and opening the ink well, began to write. 

            "Face it, Megumi," she told herself, "You're bitter, jealous, and lonely, and refuse to show it. You're too stubborn to admit what you feel and make the others around you suffer for it. You're pathetic," she added as an afterthought. Another sigh echoed from her red-painted lips. 

            "And its taken you this long to realize it," she muttered with another sigh. Up above, the stars twinkled against the inky blackness of the sky. Megumi blew out a breath and leaned up from the tree, her fingers pushing against the rough, grayish-brown bark of its trunk. She had not moved away when a sudden shiver overcame her, sending a chill down her spine. Unnerved, the lady doctor lifted her head and looked around, but to no avail. She couldn't see any physical reason for the sudden bout of nerves. Her instincts still said something was wrong, but she chalked it off to jumpiness and simply pulled her hands up into her kimono sleeves. 

            At the clinic, Genzai-sensei was starting to become concerned. Megumi had been gone for over an hour, which wasn't like her. Especially at night. He looked over at Sanosuke, and the former fighter-for-hire seemed to be having simliar misgivings. Not that he would ever really let it completely show, the wizened old doctor thought with a knowing chuckle. 

            "I'm gonna go make sure she's all right," the lanky young man said, standing up from the table. Genzai-sensei chuckled. 

            "She'll lay into you if she's fine," he reminded the younger man. Sano shrugged it off. 

            "Nothing I haven't gotten from her before," he muttered. Unbeknownst to the doctor, his reminder had only served to stir up wounds. He didn't know what he meant to Megumi. Often enough he simply just couldn't understand her. He moved to the door and slipped his shoes on, intending to find the vixen, hopefully without getting caught by her fangs and wicked tongue. 

            Megumi hadn't stopped her writing when she felt the chill again, turning her blood to ice. Some instinct deep inside her warned her that something in the air was wrong. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled. What was it? 

She turned, looking around, but she still couldn't see any visible source for her discomfiture. Whatever it was, it wasn't presenting itself in a manner for her to meet head-on. Dark eyes narrowed, but she self-conciously drew her overshirt closer around her body as her pulse quickened. Still, the feeling persisted. When it became almost overpowering, she stood suddenly, the journal and ink falling from her lap. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest as adrenaline pumped through her veins, heightening her senses and tensing her muscles. She whipped her head around to see the dark outline of a man, the only truly visible part of him the glittering of his coal-black eyes in the night. Confusion, and some other, more primal, infinitely hard to define emotion froze her in her place, keeping her from snapping off the scathing remark that lingered on the tip of her sharp tongue. She couldn't speak, much less move away. It was as if the mere presence of the man held her hypnotized. He moved closer, his footsteps not making a sound, and she could see that his hair was as dark as his eyes, framing a face with strong features and too pale skin. A hand reached out and cupped her chin, and she shivered involuntarily at the cold feel of the skin. What had come over her…? 

Sanosuke had followed the usual paths he knew she took, but so far to no avail. Where _was _that stubborn kitsune doctor? He had backtracked his way back to the clinic, and was now trying to follow the impressions of her geta on the dirt. And people said _he had no sense of direction… they ought to try following Megumi's trail once in a while. He was starting to get worried, though. Something deep inside him warned him that things weren't right. _

            Revulsion filled Megumi at the notion of this stranger touching her so intimately, but she could do nothing to stop him. Her arms and legs wouldn't work; she was frozen to the spot. The man's face drew nearer, and she could see he was an otherworldly type of beautiful. Not the strong, wiry handsomeness of a man like Sano, but a beauty that many a woman would envy. When his lips touched hers, a hatred she had not felt for any person since Kanryuu boiled within her. But there was nothing she could do. Her body had betrayed her to this beautiful stranger. His lips toyed with hers before tracing a path along her jawbone down to her neck, where his mouth employed a teasing mix of sucking and nipping to the tender flesh. He pulled away, a finger tracing the line his mouth had previously taken slowly. 

            "So beautiful," he commented before dipping his head again to her neck. But instead of the almost tender teasing of before, Megumi was aware of a sudden, sharp pain that caused her to involuntarily cry out. A strong hand enveloped her, pulling her nearer to him as her precious life's blood was drawn away. The only thought in her mind as her body weakened before she slipped into unconciousness was a name: 

            "Sanosuke…" 

            Sanosuke stopped and looked around, his heart contracting with painful worry in his chest. He knew instinctively that something was wrong. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, and adrenaline coursed through his lean body. He could have sworn he heard Megumi's voice, pleading for him.

            "Dammit fox, you had better be fine…" he muttered, although concern was in his dark eyes. He sped up, racing along the path that she had previously taken. He could still see the impressions of her wooden geta in the soft black earth. 

            Megumi was fading quickly. Her body felt limp and heavy, her legs no longer able to support her weight. Her heart beat faster and faster, trying to make up for the amount of blood she was steadily losing, but the great muscle was slowly tiring out. She was barely aware of pain, after the initial burst when his teeth had pierced her pale skin. 

            "Sano...suke…" she managed again, but it was a barely audible, breathy whisper. Her hand fell limply to her side, blood running down her fingertips to drip onto and stain the pristine white pages of the journal.  

            Sanosuke was nearing the creek, his worry by now increased tenfold. Fear for her clenched his throat, as he willed his body to move faster. Why hadn't he insisted he come along, or followed behind? Nevermind her biting remarks, he would put up with those time and again if it meant she was safe. 

            "Megumi, please, hold on…" he thought. 

            The dark stranger pulled her fading body to him, lifting her light form into his arms. He paused for a moment to stroke away a strand of black hair from her face, then smiled in a decidedly wicked manner before disappearing into the dark forest. 

            As soon as Sano burst into the cyprus grove, he immediately remembered it. Megumi had come here time and again when she felt the need for seclusion. But where was she? She didn't usually take off much farther into the woods, especially at night, for fear of getting lost. He cast worried glances around, before his dark eyes alighted on the mighty old cyprus she usually sat beside. Sure enough, those two blank books were at its base. But what else he saw made his heart stop cold, his blood turning to ice. 

            "Damnit, Megumi," he breathed with anger, the anger more directed at himself than her. He could see the immaculate pages of the book were stained rust-red with the thick liquid of her blood. As he picked them up and held them to him, he could feel that the blood was still warm. She had been here very recently. 

            "Megumi!" he yelled, receiving only the irritated squaks of a pair of ibis in return. Panic started to swell in his chest, dread freezing his soul. He was too late. Sinking to his knees, he bowed his head to his lap before looking up with fierce anger and hatred.

            "Damn you!" he cried, the tone half a growl, "Damn you!" He slammed a fist into a smaller tree beside him, the power of his Futae no Kiwami splintering it upon contact. Splinters dug into his skin, mixing his blood with hers. 

            "Damnit, Megumi…" he said again, this time softer, his voice hoarse with pain.  "Damn you, Kitsune, damn you…. Damnit, why?! Why couldn't I save you?!" 

            He knelt there for several more moments before slowly standing, gathering the few possessions she had taken with her and holding them close as he would have wished to be able to do with her. The warmth of the journal's pages had long since been replaced with the salt of his own tears; her blood, now dry, a permanent legacy of the transpirings of fate that evening. 

            As he made to leave, he turned around one last time to view the creek and cyprus grove that had been the kitsune doctor's deathsite. Had he been thinking more clearly, he might have wondered why he was giving up so easily. But then, he knew instinctively that it was done, that she was gone. He could feel it in his very soul. 

            "Sayoonara, Kitsune," he said quietly, turning to the path that led back to the clinic, vowing never to return. Not to this site of her last breaths, where in her dying throes she had called for him and he had been unable to come to her aid. He would not return to this site of his last and greatest failure. He had not only failed himself here, but he had failed her. The only response to his heartfelt farewell was the gentle caress of the summer's breeze, bringing with it the mournful song of the cicadas. 

            "Was wondering when you'd get back," Genzai-sensei started with a chuckle before seeing the deadened, ashen expression on the younger man's face. The chuckle instantly disappeared, replaced with horrified concern. He took in Sano's bloodstained fist and the hollow, angry look in his brown eyes, as well as the way he kept Megumi's journal close. 

            "Sanosuke…" he began, but was cut off as those haunted eyes turned to meet him fully. 

            "She's gone, Genzai-sensei," he explained bluntly, "She's not coming back." He sank to his knees, still not quite grappling with the situation properly himself. His mind was in too much of a state of muted shock to really grasp the severity of the circumstances other than Megumi wasn't going to be returning. He ran the bloodstained hand through his hair, staring at the hide-bound book in his lap. He had given her that book, now that he remembered it. Katsu had pointed it one day during a walk through town and had given him on odd job or two so that he could pay for it. He hadn't thought much of it until now. Maybe she had thought more of him than he would allow himself to hope. 

            Genzai-sensei, wise to the ways of grief, knew better than to press further. He silently slipped from the room to leave Sanosuke in peace with his struggling emotions. He was sure the younger man didn't want to be bothered in this moment of weakness. The girls were already put to bed. He shut the screen quietly behind him as he disappeared without a sound down the hallway. 

            Sanosuke wasn't truly aware that Genzai-sensei had left. He was focused on the journal and the other book in his hands, the last remnants of Megumi's life that she had left behind. Debating whether or not to open up the journal, it seemed still like an invasion of privacy, despite her death, he opened up the other. Inside were the inked sketches she had done from time to time, complete with little sidenotes. They were rough and untrained, but still with a great deal of talent. 

            "I didn't know you could draw, fox," he commented, more to himself than to the dead lady doctor. He flipped through the pages, hearing her teasing tones in the small footnotes she left with the sketches. He paused at one, it was of him and Yahiko entertaining the girls when she had gotten sick. He remembered that day…but he hadn't known she'd been capturing it! He still could hear clearly the playful nuances in her voice as she had commented on it. 

            He stopped at another, one of the larger and more detailed ones, this time of Kaoru midway through a stroke with her bokken. Despite the rough quality of the sketch, she had captured the female kendo teacher perfectly from expression to form. Kaoru's spirit seemed to shine from the likeness. He ran rough fingertips over the thick paper, tracing the lines. 

            The last sketch in the book was a self-portrait, done with the aid of a mirror. He knew that from the teasing notes she had left beside it. Staring at it, he was almost overcome with the force of his emotion. The sketch was taken from the waist, and she was seated slightly to the side. Her hair fell over her shoulder, her head slightly dipped with an expression that was a cross between gentle and melancholy. It wasn't the expression of the playful, trickster Megumi that he knew usually, but the expression of the woman she liked to hide. It was breathtakingly beautiful… and his heart caught in his chest. By looking at this portrait, it was as if he was looking straight at her soul. 

            "Megumi…" he breathed softly, sorrowfully. He stared at that one picture for a very long time before he forced himself to close the book and look away, not focusing on the many clean white pages that would never be filled. 

            Hesitantly, he reached for the other book, the one he knew was her journal. He paused, almost caressing the cover of it with his calloused fingertips. Should he read it? It seemed to be the last stronghold of her privacy, her innermost self. But somehow he felt it might draw him closer to her in a way beyond death that he could no longer accomplish in life. Slowly, deliberately, he turned back the sleek, hide-bound cover to glance at the pristine pages, marked in Megumi's clear and distinct writing. 

            _Sano gave me this book months ago, but I have never found a reason to write in it. It was a touching gesture, really. Not that I'll ever tell him. Of course, the reason I haven't written in here until now may simply be I was afraid of what I would discover about myself. Its not like I voice my thoughts aloud…_

Sanosuke chuckled there despite himself. The voice in the writing was so perfectly Megumi, it was as if she was sitting there before him talking to herself.  He could easily imagine it, the slight smirk on her red-painted lips and the mischievous glint in her dark eyes, the lamplight reflecting off of her rich dark hair. 

            "Megumi…" he thought, staring at the clearly defined characters she had drawn onto the book's otherwise plain face. Flipping through the book, he skipped ahead to later passage. 

            _Its__ raining like crazy outside. I swear, all one would have to do is run to the gate and return soaking wet. Beautiful, though. At least the sound is. The patients the rain will create in the morning won't be, though. Oh well. The least I can do is ease their symptoms. I hope Sano's not out in this. I'll never forgive the roosterhead if he gets himself seriously ill over something trivial. _

_            I rescued a kitten today. Yes, me. Poor thing was sitting in the road on the way from the dojo, curled in on itself and trying futilely to stay warm. I couldn't help much; I was just as wet as she was. Figures Hakamachi-san would pick the worst possible day to go into labor. Well, she and her husband now have a beautiful baby girl to show for the troubles. I'm happy to say she was perfectly healthy as well. And I have Arashi (the kitten, so aptly named, courtesy of Ayame and Suzume), who is currently curled up in my lap as I write this. We're both dry now, thankfully. Despite the trouble I had starting this, writing in this journal has become a small obsession, I think. I can't go to sleep without having at least written a small amount, trying always to reach a new page, both in the book and in my life. _

As he read, the sudden feel of soft fur against his ankle alerted him to the aforementioned feline's presence. He looked down at the gray tabby, considerably larger than when the lady doctor had first rescued her, and scratched absently at her ears. He really wasn't much of a cat person, but that was Megumi's cat, and another way to be closer to her. 

            "I bet she told you all her secrets," he said as he rubbed the cat's back. In response, the lean animal turned her head to look at him, fixing a decidedly intelligent emerald gaze on him as her pointed ears swiveled to pick up the sounds around them. Arashi let out a soft meow, and started kneading her paws into his knee. 

            "I'll tell you one, Arashi," he said absently, although it was more as if he was telling it to himself, or somehow telling it to Megumi through the common bond of her cat. 

            "I loved her," he finished, "I did. But I was too scared she'd shoot me down if I said anything. I don't know what I would have really done had she truly rejected me…" He turned his gaze back to her journal, flipping ahead again.

            _It's finally happened, and about time too. Kenshin and Kaoru have finally married. I was wondering when they would get around to it. Or, more precisely, when Kenshin would get over his self-absorption and 'unworthy' routine. Despite whatever I might have said, or how I may have acted to the contrary, I really am very happy for them. They truly deserve each other, and I'm glad they can make each other happy. As to me, well, that's another story all together and I'm tired. That one will have to wait for another day. _

The cat didn't seem to mind the rough feel of Sanosuke's calloused fingers as he rubbed at her head, and her earlier meows had subsided into a steady purr. He had stopped speaking, his mind and thoughts completely intent on the writings within the book on his lap and the fresh, painful memory of the raven haired beauty who had composed them. Flicking somberly through the pages, he stopped at the last record, the final musings of Megumi that were stained with her death's blood. 

            _I don't know what has come over me recently. Its not like me to drift into melancholy, but lately that seems to be what is happening more and more frequently. What is missing, why am I feeling this way? Maybe its this unbearable summer humidity, and maybe its age. It does seem to be that my life is passing me by. I fear I will wake up one day and not be able to recognize my surroundings, as if I were frozen in a memory. This speculation isn't like me, either. Its more philosophical than practical, but then again, the whole process of this journal is more philosophical than practical, and it has me captivated. _

_            I think, just maybe, I might simply be lonely. Recently it seems as if I've been an outsider to my own life. I'm probably just overreacting and seeing things that aren't there, I know. It's most likely just a mood that will pass with the change of the season and I'll look back on this entry and laugh it away. But at the same time, I can't help but feel at the moment that there's more around here than I'm understanding, like there's a greater expanse of life that's hovering just beyond my grasp. _

_            Sano came by not too long ago. We traded barbs and witty remarks as usual before he eventually left. He'll be back before dinner, I'm sure. I just don't understand him… and I don't understand myself when I'm near him. He attracts me, and then he confuses me and pushes me away again. Or maybe I'm pushing him away. I don't know. I really don't. We play this same game, again and again. We tease and flirt and dance around whatever issue is there, but nothing ever happens. I don't know how much longer I can do this. I don't know why I'm getting angry or annoyed, its not like its exactly only one of us to blame. I'm not really helping things along either; I don't think I know what I want. _

"I had no idea, Kitsune…" he said softly, running his fingers over the stained pages. But that wasn't completely true. He had known for a long time that things between them were becoming shaky and unsure, but he had been to unsure of it himself to make any real moves. 

            _It's gotten too dark to write properly now, I'll have to stop. I don't know why I even bothered to bring the sketchbook out here. I knew it was late when I started, I swear I did. Oh well. I need to head back soon. I want to be able to find the path! If I get lost I'll never live it down. Wow, that was a sudden chill for such a warm day and evening. I wonder what caused it? Wait, my heart is pounding… What the…._

 It was there that the words stopped, the ink mixing with the shed blood. Sanosuke knew that what he held in his hands was unbelieveably precious; that book contained the last words Megumi would ever write. It wasn't enough to give a picture of what had happened to her, but he wasn't completely sure he wanted to know. If he knew that much, it would be another stinging reminder of how he had failed. 

            "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, Megumi," he said softly, his tone incredibly serious and infinitely regretful. "And I'm sorry for all the things that I could have said, but never did. I'm sorry I took you for granted..." his voice hoarsened and he looked down, the emotions coursing through him too strong and too varied to easily deal with at once. Without bothering with a futon, he stretched out along the floor, Megumi's books held close as Arashi reseated herself near his body. If one looked closely, there was a visible glimmer as a solitary tear added its saline contribution to the mixed solution on the last page of the journal. 

  


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            Well, there you have it. Please let me know what you think. Honest critiques are much welcomed. I am writing this because I want to, however, so please don't shoot me down too harshly. lol. 

Arashi= Storm, by the way. 

~Trickster Lady


End file.
